


A Quiet Day Made Better

by FireandRosemary



Series: Life With The Old Guard [4]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Charity Shop, Clothes Shopping, Encounters with the old guard, Might as well support a good cause at the same time, POV Outsider, They go through so many clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28576914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireandRosemary/pseuds/FireandRosemary
Summary: It's a quiet day at the charity shop when Sally encounters possibly the most enigmatic customer she's ever had.
Series: Life With The Old Guard [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088633
Comments: 8
Kudos: 112





	A Quiet Day Made Better

Sally sorts through some of the more recent donations, more for something to do than anything else. It’s been too quiet at the charity shop today, barely worth being open at all. It always saddens her when it’s this quiet, theirs is a small charity and she wants to see it do well. The sack she’s sorting through contains yet more clothes. Sally looks over at the clothes already out on display; there’s not really much room left for more.

The bell at the door rings and Sally looks up, hoping for, but not expecting at least one sale to make the day worthwhile.

A man walks in, pulling off his sunglasses as the door closes behind him. Sally greets him and asks if he needs help. He gives her a polite smile and says he’ll be fine, Sally isn’t sure, but she thinks she picks up a trace of an accent, French, perhaps. He makes his way straight to the clothes racks like a man on a mission, running a hand through dark blond hair as he surveys what is on offer.

Sally watches as he flicks through the clothes, picking out several sets of jeans and setting them to one side. She can’t help but watch him, for one thing, this is the most interesting thing that’s happened all day. For another, the clothes he’s pulling from the rack have a range of different size tags on them. She offers to take some of the clothes from him, leaving his hands free to continue browsing. He thanks her, a brief smile crinkling his blue eyes. She doesn’t bother him again, but she can hear him muttering under his breath as he pulls more clothes from the racks.

“Andy, Joe, Nicky…” Each name accompanies an item of clothing, well that would explain the different sizes and styles if he’s shopping for other people.

As he moves, Sally spots a small tear in the t-shirt he’s wearing under his shirt. There’s another in his jeans. She’s not certain, but she thinks she spots a small stain on his shirt too, which she very much hopes isn’t blood. She says nothing, he seems pleasant enough and it’s not worth staring or commenting.

Finally, he is done, and most of the contents of the clothing racks is piled on the counter. Sally is readying herself to put most of it away again. It happens all the time, people pull things from the shelves, change their minds at the counter, then leave her to put it away.

She is, however, pleasantly surprised.

He takes each item from her after she has entered it into the till, folds it and puts it into one of four bags on the counter. That is the only slightly odd thing, apart from his apparent determination to purchase half the shop; he has asked for four bags and wants to sort the items as they go. Sally says nothing, his business is his own after all, and he seems pleasant enough, but not chatty. However, she does realise that the different bags each contain different sizes. One for each of the names and one for him then.

Finally, the clothes are all bagged. Sally is a little hesitant to say the total out loud. Even at charity shop prices it’s come to three figures, she knows it’s more than the shop normally takes in a whole day. But he doesn’t balk, doesn’t even blink. Instead, he pulls a wad of notes from his pocket, peels off several, and hands them over. Sally tests them under the UV light as she always does, not many people carry such large amounts of cash, and despite his quiet pleasantries, the smallest of suspicions flutters in her mind. The notes are all real, maybe he just prefers cash.

He tells her to keep the change, picks up the bags and thanks her before leaving, walking out onto the street with a quiet self-assurance.

Sally smiles as he walks past the window, making his way up the street. Not an ordinary customer for this quiet little shop, but a pleasant one. At least now, there is room on the racks for the new donations.


End file.
